Posts tagged “dwama”.

Read Write Web has a passionate article titled “Amazon Turns Twitter into a Marketplace - Are You Concerned?” The article goes on to express great concern that the commercial or advertising nature of these Amazon links is hidden.

“The problem with this sort of “hidden” advertising, though, is exactly that: it’s hidden. This is the internet’s version of “product placement” - subtle advertising in plain sight yet never clearly identified as such. Was your favorite TV star using a Macbook? Was he drinking a Coke? Already commonplace in Hollywood, these almost subliminal advertising messages permeate our consciousness every time we turn on the TV. Now that same sort of hidden ad will soon show up in the Twitter streams of your favorite tweeters.”

Shocking!

What a storm in a tea cup! Maybe because I am a retailer, I don’t find this shocking at all. My favorite tweeps share enormous amounts of interesting information, music, some humor and good natured razzing plus the occasional promotional message. People who contribute nothing except an advertising stream get unfollowed because they are boring.

I have a mind and free will, I can click that button and feel no pain. My first thought was that the writer was new to twitter, maybe she didn’t know about ‘unfollow’, but that is not the case.

When she went on to wonder if the FTC might become involved;

“…one has to wonder if they’ll now be tempted to monitor the undisclosed advertising that’s about to explode on Twitter.”